This 70 plus page document has been made available online by the Tauranga City Council. Click the download link above.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The aim of the Central Tauranga Heritage Study is to carry out a comprehensive review of built heritage, and to use this information to look at the ongoing management of heritage resources from a base of understanding and knowledge. It is important to recognise that there can be a shift in what we value over time, particularly as information and knowledge of a place is extended. Places we value now may not always have been recognised or valued as highly.

The study has involved broad research into the main historic themes which have shaped development in central Tauranga so that individual places can be understood in context. It has also involved gathering information about a broad range of buildings and structures, from a range of periods in the central area. This preliminary research helped to identify important historic associations or values that needed to be investigated more fully.

There are aspects of central Tauranga built environment which are typical of many New Zealand town centres and other elements that are unique. Currently only a small number of places have been identified as being of heritage value in central Tauranga through their inclusion in the district plan schedule of heritage places. Very little historic research is held by council in relation to those places which are scheduled. A report, titled Heritage Management: Issues and Options for Tauranga District, was prepared for the Tauranga District Council in 1993. This report identified a range of issues related to heritage in Tauranga and developed a set of guiding principles for a heritage strategy. This study included an inventory of places considered to be of High, Medium and Low heritage value. It provided a summary of management issues and a suggested strategy. Using the inventories in the 1993 study as a starting point places were prioritised for research as part of this study.

The built form in central Tauranga demonstrates development from a range of periods, and provides evidence of important associations with people and organisations over time, and its historic pattern of development. Tauranga surviving historic buildings and places are an important asset of the central area, contributing to its unique sense of place, and they are a finite resource. Currently there are a number of places in the central area or groups of places which do have heritage value to some degree. Most of these places are included in the Built Heritage Inventory database, however this identification does not necessarily provide certainty or encouragement to retain and reuse them in preference to redevelopment.

There is an opportunity to expand the understanding and information available about other significant places and important historic themes in the central area and to celebrate a broader range of places. The ongoing retention and sympathetic reuse of a range of places adds to the authentic qualities of the centre. Research about heritage in central Tauranga provides a resource that will help in understanding what is there, what is special about it, and hopefully promoting that to the community, new investors and tourists.

As a result of the study options for statutory and non­statutory methods to enhance the ongoing management of the collective values of heritage resources and future development in central Tauranga are put forward.

The Study report is in two parts. Part One includes the thematic historic overview, a summary of cultural heritage values associated with the city centre as a whole and a review of management of heritage resources. Options for enhancing heritage management through non­statutory and statutory methods are proposed. Appendices contain supporting information.

Part Two contains an inventory of heritage places within the central study area which have been researched and assessed using heritage criteria from theBayofPlenty Regional Policy Statement. This is supported by record forms for those places which have been researched in detail, as part of this Study and by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Base information gathered for a number of other places is included in the appendices.